


Circles and Triangles

by ayelles



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2018-02-05 07:21:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1810048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayelles/pseuds/ayelles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[set in Season 2, post-One Angry Veronica]</p><p>  <em>Break-up with boyfriend? Bad day. Air let out of your tires? Worse day. Running into your other ex-boyfriend after you've puked in a gas station bathroom? The gods hate you.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Circles and Triangles

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is set immediately following 2x10 One Angry Veronica but before 2x11 Donut Run. Few reminders of what that means (since it's been a while):  
> \- Senior year of high school  
> \- Duncan and Veronica are still together  
> \- Meg dies but the baby lives  
> \- We don't know yet that Weevil and Logan are working together on solving Felix's murder  
> \- Wallace just got back from Chicago and we don't know anything about that yet
> 
> [originally posted on LiveJournal in 2006; a bunch of edits since then]

When Duncan breaks up with her, Veronica isn't quite sure how to react. She realizes that she should have expected it, even perhaps instigated the breakup, since the moment she found him outside Meg's hospital room. He loved her - and by _her_ , Veronica meant Meg. And maybe it was Veronica and Duncan's history or their shared desire to recreate that history that kept their relationship alive despite the comatose blonde bearing his child, but either way, once Meg slipped from the living and Duncan's baby was a real kicking, screaming, crying baby - Veronica and Duncan? So over.

She doesn't really know who she should run to. Despite the fact she knew this was coming, she can't not be hurt. Veronica Mars may appear to be made out of steel, but there's only so much she can take. And getting dumped by the one stable person in her life doesn't do much for her sanity. 

Instead, she drives to Dog Beach and sits as close to the ocean as she can without getting wet. Staring at the horizon, at the perfect point where the sea and sky meet, she runs a mental list of who she has left to turn to. 

Number one, of course, is her father. Keith Mars will be her eternal knight in shining armor, but when it comes to her boyfriends and her pain post-boyfriend, the over-protective gun-toting father isn't the best choice. Especially if she wants him around for the next eight to twenty, depending on manslaughter charges. She'll tell him about the break-up later, but not now. Not when the hurt is fresh and she really really wants to punch Duncan and his polite "I have a daughter now" assface until his jaw breaks.

The next person on her list is the brother from another mother, newly returned to Neptune, Wallace Fennel. She knows he'll open up his arms and tell her that things will be better now and she never needed that fool anyway. Because he is her best friend and he kicks ass as her best friend. Yet that little seed of guilt about her sucking as _his_ best friend both grew and flourished in his absence. She knows for a fact that he's bonding with the basketball team right now, so she's going to be a friend and let him enjoy it. They can plan Duncan Kane's asswhooping later.

And um, was that the whole list? No. There's Mac, who is actually more of a business associate than a friend if you think about it. And Weevil, who she could probably say the same thing about.

And then there's Logan.

She wants so badly to wrap her arms around his neck and pull herself into him, trapped in his sarcastic words, charming smirk and the safety of his arms. She wants to bury her face in the crook of his neck and feel him pull her close, soothing and gentle. 

But she can't. 

Because she doesn't want to be that girl. The one that bounces from one guy to another, then back to the first when she breaks up with the other one, then back to him when the first breaks up with her. She wants Logan to hold her and love her and support her emotionally. But she's knows enough to know that that won't happen. Not when he has Kendall Casablancas twisted in his sheets and the pain of her abandonment this summer still fresh in his already angry heart. 

She pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around her legs. So this is what it's like to be alone.

xxx

When she finally decides that it's too cold to be at the beach while the sun is setting, she realizes she can't go home. The air has been let out of all four tires of the LeBaron and a note on her windshield reads "What's your verdict on this, bitch?" 

That's what she gets for taking time out of her life for serving her country and its judicial system. 

"Fuck me," she spits, kicking an airless tire. Her toe aches a little from the contact, but she does it again. She may not always agree with violence, but my how it releases tension and aggression.

"Damn, girl. What did that car do to you?" 

She stops her assault on her own vehicle and turns to face Weevil. He looks relaxed in his baggy jeans and leather jacket, his bike helmet tucked under the crook of his left arm. 

"I haven't done anything but love this car. It was just abused and molested by assholes who hate me because I was on that jury," she plasters a painfully fake smile on her face. "It really makes you love Neptune."

He returns her fake smile with a sad one. 

"Well, no matter how much you love this place you can't walk home at night," he nods at his bike parked not too far away. "Hop on."

xxx

It takes about fourteen seconds of sitting behind Weevil, with four hundred horses of power between her legs, for Veronica to realize that she needs to invest in a motorcycle. This - riding along the PCH when pissed off at the world, with a mind that needs to be cleared - is a perfect end to her day. 

And then she starts feeling sick. 

Maybe they're going too fast, maybe she's been out in the cold sea wind for too long, maybe her emotional fucked-up-ness is manifesting itself in her body. She doesn't know what it is but she knows she needs to puke. 

She isn't sure if Weevil hears her when she screams into the air, but he pulls into the next gas station and points towards the restroom. She races towards it and bangs her knees against the porcelain as she leans over the toilet bowl and heaves. Bile catches and burns in her throat, scratching down the walls of soft tissue and burning their acid flavor into her tongue. It makes her feel amazing when she stands upright again. Purged of all that mess.

When she catches sight of herself in the mirror, she wonders when she started crying. There are dried salty streams on her cheeks and her eyes are slightly swollen. She turns on the hot water and scrubs her face til she feels raw. For good measure, she gargles the acidic taste away and pops in the last mint from her purse. 

Once she's straightened her clothes, she goes outside to look for Weevil and his bike. The first thing she sees is an ostentatiously yellow X-Terra. Break-up with boyfriend? Bad day. Air let out of your tires? Worse day. Running into your other ex-boyfriend after you've puked in a gas station bathroom? The gods hate you.

She takes a deep breath and keeps walking, hoping she finds Weevil and gets the hell out of there before Logan Echolls crosses either of their paths.

When she spots Weevil, she knows its already too late. He stands with his back to her, facing Logan and if she didn't know better she would say they were talking - amicably. She raises an eyebrow but walks over anyway.

"Hey," she says to neither of them in particular.

"Hey, you alright?" Weevil faces her, concern in his eyes.

"Yeah," she flashes a small smile. "What's going on?" she asks, nodding towards Logan.

"Oh, you know, asking Pretty Boy here how he'd like me to rearrange his face." Weevil grins at Logan and cracks his knuckles as the two boys lock eyes.

Veronica's hands automatically fly to Weevil's sides, as if she could hold him back if he decided to attack Logan. Hey, at least she can say she tried.

"Aw, isn't this touching?" Logan's voice drips with sarcasm. "Veronica Mars here to save me from the big bad Weevil." His voice slips out of sarcasm and into a biting tone as he continues, "Really, Ronnie, you shouldn't be out here slumming it. Your sweetie-pie Duncan might catch something."

Her left arm still around Weevil's waist, her right hand slaps Logan across his face. Hard. Her hand stings but not as much as her eyes do as tears begin to pool.

"Fuck you, Logan." Both Weevil and Logan stare at her, shocked at her language. "And in case your roommate failed to mention, sweetie-pie broke up with me this morning."

"And you jumped into Weevil's waiting arms. Man, you really don't waste any time, do you?" He smirks. "I bet vato over here keeps your bed pretty warm." He braces himself for another slap, but what he gets is much worse.

Veronica's hand still stings so she knows it's not the best idea to slap him again. So she opts for the other route to hurt him. Screwing with his head. 

"Warm? Oh no, he keeps it hot."

If her tone didn't contain enough innuendo, she licks her bottom lip ever so slightly. Logan raises an eyebrow; the look in his eyes says he doesn't believe her. In turn, she replies by facing Weevil, cupping the base of his neck and pulling him in for a long, searing kiss. His lips pressed hard against hers, open only slightly, moistening the contact, so she can't help let her tongue slip through the opening. He reacts instantly, sucking at her bottom lip, tongue tangling against hers. She pulls away after a few moments, mouth swollen and out of breath.

"In case your confused, what I'm talking about has nothing to do with cuddling." 

"Fuck you," Logan mutters as he walks away.

She watches him as he takes his hurried strides to his SUV, wondering if he's mad at her. Of course he's mad at her, she just made a show of kissing the same guy who kicked his ass in a bathroom last week. She just wonders why she did it. Because even though she's suppressing it to the bottom of her being, there's an urge within her to run after him, apologize and kiss him breathless. 

When he and his yellow monstrosity are finally out of sight, she realizes she still has an arm wrapped around Weevil.

Oh yeah. Weevil.

"Damn, girl." 

That's all he says before they head back towards his bike.

xxx

Before they leave the gas station into a blur of stop signs, sidewalks and other cars, she tells him she's not ready to go home yet. 

He understands. Break-ups suck. Break-ups with the guy that was your first love, your first lover and the brother of your dead best friend? Eli doesn't try to imagine how that screws up Veronica Mars. Because, to over-simplify and understate the past year or so, she was already pretty screwed up before that. He takes her to his grandmother's house, where all the lights are on, both the TV and the radio are blaring and the smell of enchiladas hangs heavy in the air.

She hesitates a little when they reach the door. She's met Mrs. Navarro before, but never unannounced for dinner with the family. Her eyes resemble a rabbit that's detected danger, ready to flee in an instant.

A large, warm hand takes hers before she can go anywhere. 

"Relax, it's just dinner. We don't bite," he smiles and tilts his head in a style not too different from hers. "Well, as long as there's enough food, we don't." 

She can't help but laugh, as they walk into the Navarro house. There are two boys around the age of nine playing video games in the living room, she wonders if they are brothers or cousins, but quickly realizes that it doesn't matter. Their faces light up the moment they see Weevil and they abandon the game to greet him with hugs. They're family.

He hugs them both, lifting the smaller one into the air for a moment, before asking where their grandmother is. The boys point towards the kitchen. Weevil heads in that direction and Veronica immediately follows. On their way to the kitchen, they encounter a small girl in pigtails setting the dining table, she can't be more than six. And she squeals at the sight of Weevil.

"Eli!" she shrieks as she leaps into his arms. He catches her easily and lifts her high above his head, til she giggles in delight. When he puts her down, she frowns and pleads "Again?" He repeats the motion again and again, as Veronica stands by, amused. 

"So, this is the Eli Navarro secret to amazing biceps?" she quips with a smile.

"Yup, besides Ophelia's way cuter than a bench press." He punctuates the statement by pinching the little girl's cheeks. Apparently too grown up for that, she rolls her eyes and returns to setting the table.

Veronica laughs, and it's surprisingly honest and genuine. She likes this place. Sure, she's had a bad day to say the least, but even her pessimistic self can't ignore the life and laughter that flow through this house. So this is where Eli gets his strength, where he recharges and becomes the invincible leader of the PCH bike gang and the number one enemy of pretentious 09er assholes everywhere. Veronica's chest suddenly feels to small for her beating heart as she thinks of the awesome home and family she once had. 

"Veronica, you've met my grandmother before right?" Eli's voice interrupts her thoughts as Mrs. Navarro comes into view. She smiles, soft and gentle, though Veronica knows she's the strength and core of this home and family.

"Hi, I hope you don't mind me coming for dinner." She smiles.

"Not at all, it's about time Eli brought home a girl for dinner."

Veronica finds mouth open with a denial and an explanation to match, but nothing comes out as a warmth spreads across her cheeks. She is blushing and has no idea how to hide it. She ducks her head and stares at her feet until she hears Mrs. Navarro laugh and walk away. 

When she peeks her eyes upward, she can see Eli is blushing as well.

xxx

The dinner is the best that Veronica has had in a long while, with respect to both the cuisine and the company. Sure, Wallace and day-old pizza is comfort and love, but homemade enchiladas, seasoned rice and a table full of family laughing together are something else entirely. 

Asides from the three kids (cousins, she figures out later on) Veronica met upon arriving, there are Eli's two younger siblings. Eli's older male cousins are in their mid-twenties but still act like the nine-year-olds when fighting for food or leering at Veronica. The only other girl around Veronica's age at the table is Mia, who, halfway through dinner, leans over to Veronica and whispers, "Break his heart and I'll break your neck, Blondie."

Needless to say, Veronica lets out a big sigh once she exits the house.

"Nothing like family," Eli says, lighting a cigarette. They stand quietly for a moment, on the sidewalk, Eli leaning slightly on his bike. He almost falls over when Veronica plucks the cigarette from his mouth and takes a long drag.

"Since when have you been smoking, V?" He is obviously in shock. "Tsk tsk, don't damage those precious little lungs of yours." 

"What? These things damage your lungs?" she pulls off the dumb blonde voice perfectly and both of them chuckle a little.

Then, the silence descends yet again.

"So, you and Duncan-"

"It's been over for a while. We just never got around to breaking up," her tone is even and her voice is soft, it scares Eli. He's not used to her serious, straightforward and visibly hurt. She is hurting so much, he wonders why she isn't hemorrhaging.

"Well, you were always too good for that white boy anyway."

She raises an eyebrow, but gives him a small smile.

"So you and Logan. At the gas station." And suddenly, Veronica is masking the hurt and acting as though she and Eli are business as usual.

"You mean when you sexually assaulted me?" Eli says with a wink.

"No. Before that, the two of you were talking and you managed to keep your fists to yourselves and behave like grown ups. The kind that are working together on something." The dots connect in Veronica's head before the words spill out of her mouth. "Like Felix's real murderer."

Eli says nothing but nods in confirmation. He can practically see the lightbulb above Veronica's head and takes advantage of her concentration to steal his cigarette back. Realizing that the cancer stick is no longer between her fingers, Veronica snaps back to reality.

"And it wasn't sexual assault. You kissed me back."

All Eli can do is laugh.

xxx

Veronica has Eli - or is it Weevil again? - drop her half a block away from her house. She doesn't really have a clue what time it is but she know no matter what time a PCH biker drops her off at her apartment - to her father, it's the wrong time. To save herself a lecture and pow wow time with her dad talking about Weevil and Duncan, she hugs Weevil goodbye at the corner and watches him disappear in the darkness before heading towards her door. 

In the short walk, she finally realizes how tired she is. Exhausted. This day has lasted for far too long and her bed is the only thing she wants to be around tonight. Well, except for maybe some ice cream.

But life always has other plans and just when she is within four feet of her door, Logan Echolls emerges from the darkness.

"What are you doing here, Logan?" she means to sound pissed off and threatening, but her voice comes out small and surprised.

To her annoyance he doesn't say anything. He just stares into her eyes, he looks into her, searching, searching. She's got layers of clothing on, but the ways his dark eyes burn into her, she feels more naked and vulnerable than she ever has in bed with Duncan. Seconds pass morphing into minutes that fly away from the two teenagers on the front steps of the apartment complex.

Veronica has lost all capacity for coherent thought - _fuck you, Logan, how do you do that?_ \- while sharing Logan's gaze. She feels like an onion and Logan is peeling away her layers with his eyes. She knows what he sees. He sees long hair and pastel colored cardigans, pizza with the Kanes and soccer games in the summer. He peels that away and sees forced bravery in a white dress at Shelley Pomeroy's. He sees silent tears at Lilly's funeral, a stiff upper lip as her father loses the position of Sheriff. Perhaps he has been staring for too long but his eyes water as he peels into the next layer. Brand new hair cut, brand new attitude and a cutting retort for every one of his painful jabs at her life. Bongs in lockers and headlights in pieces on the ground. She swallows, knowing what he sees next. Compassion for a boy who has just lost his mother, camaraderie in the face of abandonment mutating into kisses filled with intensity and passion and... and...

And she has to look away now. A warm hand on her cheeks forces her to meet his eyes again.

"I needed to... need to talk to you... see you," he is slurring a little, but given his tolerance for alcohol he is still relatively sober.

"What do you want, Logan?"

"Are you fucking Navarro?" His voice is low, but steady. The intensity and desperation in his eyes begs her for an answer. This is what he came here for. 

"That's none of your bus-" she snaps back automatically, before he cuts her off.

"Yes or no, Veronica. Please just give me a fucking answer. No bullshit. Just yes or no, goddammit!" His voice starts to rise, but he is more exasperated than angry.

"Are you fucking Navarro?!"

She shakes her head. "No," she whispers and even though it is the truth she feels as though she is just placating Logan. Worst of all, she's okay with that.

There is no time to think it over because suddenly his lips are on hers. The kiss is gratitude and relief - not unlike the first time she kissed him at the Camelot. Instantly she is lost in his soft lips pressing against her mouth, the taste of cinnamon gum and whiskey and before she can really kiss back, he pulls away.

He turns to leave, but she reaches out and tugs on his elbow. Later, she'll laugh at the way their history repeats itself, but for now she pulls him towards her with one hand and reaches for him with the other. Rising to her tiptoes, she leans into him and kisses him. His lips part in a sigh and she thrusts her tongue into his mouth. His body automatically reacts to the invasion, pulling her closer, tangling his fingers in her hair, gliding his tongue against hers, sucking on her lip, nibbling, biting. When they finally pull away, they are breathless.

"Thanks," she says, when she has regained her composure. 

"What?"

"Thank. You. Logan. For the River Styx." She refuses to look at him but she knows he understands. The foundation of their house of cards of a relationship had been when he came to the rescue at Camelot. Suddenly, she doesn't want to laugh at things like history repeating itself anymore. Because it's not funny when it's this real. 

"Good night, Veronica."

xxx

That night Veronica brushes her teeth twice to rid herself of the taste of the two guys she inadvertently made out with that day. She carefully snips away at the bottom inch of her hair, saying goodbye to Duncan all over again. And she creates a new folder on her Desktop, it reads "FELIX TOOMBS MURDER CASE".

 

-END-


End file.
